


To Die Together, A Life Together

by Leonidas1754



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: (I managed to avoid any specifics pretty handily other than like 1 minor no context thing), (It won't even make sense unless you already know), Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Felix was a crybaby as a kid and you cannot take that away from me, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Minor Character Death, No Spoilers, Post-A+ Support, Post-Timeskip (Part 2), Reminiscing, They're really gay and stupid and they just want to be happy okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-08-09 21:21:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20124031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leonidas1754/pseuds/Leonidas1754
Summary: (Post Felix/Sylvain A+ Support)Felix and Sylvain have known each other for a long, long time. From when they were children facing facts of life far too young, to young men lost in a war and trying to find their way forward, they've been there for one another. After their last talk, though, Felix cannot stop thinking of their childhood promise, leading to reminiscing and a proposition- Or perhaps, a proposal.





	To Die Together, A Life Together

**Author's Note:**

> Sylvain and Felix's supports are so fucking gay it's unbearable. I've kinda latched onto two particular bits for this fic, though-  
1) In their C support- apparently when they were kids, Felix used to run to Sylvain when he was upset.  
2) That stupid, ridiculous, really fucking gay promise that's brought up in their A+ support.
> 
> I've extrapolated a bit, obviously, but this is my take on how that promise might've come about, and you can pry crybaby baby Felix from my cold, dead hands. Hope you enjoy!

“Do you remember the day we made that promise not to die without one another?”

Sylvain blinked, a little startled. He and Felix had been sparing in the training grounds, and were just catching their breaths after a rough spar. The question had come a little out of nowhere, so for a moment, Sylvain wasn’t sure what to say.

“I… Yea, of course I do. Why?” Sylvain let the sword rest at his side, tilting his head.

“I’ve been thinking about it. Since you brought it up the other day, it’s just on my mind constantly.” Felix turned his head away, seeming a touch more somber than usual.

Sylvain approached slowly. “It’s not like you to be thinking about stuff like that. Something wrong?”

A slight twitch of a smile appeared on Felix’s lips. “No, not really. You always start to fuss like that, when you think something’s wrong, ever since we were kids. I don’t need that, you know.”

Sylvain couldn’t help but chuckle softly. “Sorry. Guess I’m still used to how you acted when we were kids. You really were such a crybaby back then.”

“You’re never going to let that go, are you,” Felix grumbled. “But yes, I was thinking about that too.”

That was unusual. Sylvain knew he remembered it, he thought of their younger years fondly. “... You know, I hated it at first. How you used to run to me whenever you were upset.”

Felix looked up, seeming surprised. “You did? I never knew. Though I guess it makes more sense that you did than not. What changed your mind, though?”

Sylvain chuckled, rubbing his neck. “Well, I was always annoyed that you’d run and cling to me, and I thought you were pesky and needed to grow up.” Sylvain winced as Felix glared at him, raising his sword some. “We were kids, kids are stupid!” he defended. “And besides, Glenn set me straight pretty quick.”

“Oh yea. Why’s that,” Felix asked, though his voice was threatening and dark.

Sylvain considered his options. Unfortunately, Felix was between Sylvain and the door, so his only means of escape was rather well blocked. “Well, I went to complain to him, because I thought you should be going to your big brother instead, but he told me that, well… He figured I should be flattered, because you felt safe enough to go to me for comfort. You didn’t like going to him because you didn’t want him to be disappointed in you, and you didn’t want the prince to think you were weak, or the girl. And he talked about how you felt things really strongly, which was why you cried.”

“Yea, well, figures he’d find a good way to spin things.” Felix looked grumpy still, and somewhat embarrassed.

“Heh… To be honest, I kinda miss it. You coming crying to me, I mean. Not because I liked seeing you upset!” he said quickly as Felix started to glare again. “I just… I dunno, it felt nice to be able to comfort you? Guess I just miss it, since you’re pretty standoffish now, and you don’t let anyone see you vulnerable.”

Felix’s gaze softened, to Sylvain’s surprise, guilt and sadness there. “Well, I grew up. That’s just how it is. Not like you didn’t change.”

Sylvain laughed. “What? I thought you’d said I was a good for nothing then and a good for nothing now!”

“Sure, you are, just in different ways.” Felix would normally be snarky about it, but he still seemed strangely resigned. “A lot of those times I came crying were stupid anyways. All but… You know. The reason we made that foolish promise.”

Sylvain’s expression fell. “The day that knight died.” Sylvain remembered it well, if only for just how serious Felix had been. “You were pretty scared. But… it was for a really good reason. It was a lot of why I decided to take Glenn’s word.”

* * *

“Sylvaaaaaaaaiiiin!”

Sylvain groaned as he heard Felix’s wailing from down the hall. He knew Glenn was probably right about his younger brother being sensitive, and even if he wasn’t, Glenn would probably kick his ass if he didn’t bear with Felix.

Felix rushed towards Sylvain and launched himself into Sylvain’s arms, bawling. Sylvain sighed and wrapped his arms around Felix’s smaller form. “What happened now?” he asked, unable to keep his annoyance out of his voice.

Felix cried into Sylvain’s shoulder, clinging to his shirt. Finally, he was able to calm down enough to talk. “I-I-I went and saw that knight…”

“What? But dad told us to stay away from the infirmary!” Sylvain said. He frowned, glancing around in worry. “C’mon, let’s go to my room.” He took Felix’s hand and dragged him into Sylvain’s room.

Felix stumbled after him, scrubbing at his eyes with his free hand. Once they were inside and safe, Sylvain turned to Felix again. “Why’d you go and do that, you’re going to get in trouble!”

Felix sniffed, looking down. “I wa-anted to hear about the battle… There’s always a lot of fighting here, and I wanted to hear about it…”

Sylvain frowned. “What, did the knight yell at you for asking?”

Felix slowly shook his head. “No, he… He told me. He seemed really tired, though, and while he was talking, he got really _really _tired, and, and… and he fell asleep, and he stopped breathing…”

“Aw Felix…” Sylvain didn’t have to think hard to guess what happened. Sylvain had already had to get used to the idea in some capacity, that knights were killed in battle. He didn’t like it, and avoided thinking about it as much as possible, but it would be Felix’s first experience with this sort of thing. “It’s… He…” Unable to find the words, Sylvain hugged him tightly.

Felix sniffed, hiding his face in Sylvain’s shoulder again. “It’s really dangerous here, isn’t it?” Felix asked. “Glenn says this area fights a lot ‘cause of the people in the north. That knight got hurt really bad, and… h-he’s not the only one, is he?”

“No… Lot’s of knights get hurt fighting out there. A lot heal back, promise!” Sylvain added, hoping it would help soothe Felix. “We have some of the best healers in all of Fargeus, so they’re able to help a lot of people!”

“Not all of them, though. That knight… I thought he was okay, but he was hurt too bad. The healer lady tried to save him…” Felix squeezed his eyes shut as more tears leaked out. “You’re in danger here, Sylvain…”

Sylvain froze. Was _ that _ what this was about? “You… You’re afraid what happened to that knight will happen to me..?”

Felix pulled back as he wiped at his face, looking up at Sylvain. “You could get hurt really bad, and then… and then you’d be gone.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Sylvain said firmly. “I’m gonna get stronger, stronger than anyone, just like you and Glenn! And no one will be able to hurt me like that. So don’t worry, okay?”

Felix gave a watery giggle. “You’re not gonna get stronger than me. I’m gonna be the strongest in the world, and then I could protect you!”

“No way, if anyone’s gonna protect anyone, I’m gonna protect _ you _! You gotta stop being such a crybaby before you can protect anyone, anyway.”

They both glared at each other for a moment before breaking down into laughter again. Felix scrubbeda his eyes again, the tears finally easing away. “Heh… Why don’t we just protect each other? That way we don’t go getting really hurt and… a-and dying without each other.”

Sylvain nodded and squeezed Felix again. “I promise. That way we can stick together forever.”

Felix wrapped his arms around Sylvain’s neck, hugging close again. “Good. Thanks, Sylvain…”

Sylvain smiled, feeling warm all over. Maybe it was kind of annoying but it also felt nice, being able to make Felix smile after he was so upset. Sylvain made a second promise, just to himself, that he’d always try to make Felix smile when he was upset, and to cheer him up whenever he could.

* * *

Sylvain sighed as the memory washed over him. They’d been so young, so foolish, so… Well, childish. “Kids our age really shouldn’t have been facing the realities of death and war, honestly.”

Felix snorted. “No kidding. But that’s the way it is, for people like us. That promise we made… We didn’t really understand what it was all about. Dying without one another…” Felix shook his head, bringing his fingers up to rub his temple. “But I can’t stop thinking about it.”

Sylvain pursed his lips. “Why’s that? It can’t just be because I brought it up, unless you forgot about the promise entirely.”

“No… I never forgot.” There was a strange softness to Felix’s voice that Sylvain had never heard before. “We grew up a lot safer than we thought we would. Even while we were schooling here at the monastery, the idea that we might die… it seemed laughable, because of how much care the professors and staff put into our safety even in battle. But it’s different now.”

“Yea.” And wasn’t that a sobering thought. “Not even the monastery is safe. Sure, we’ve made it our base, but we could still be attacked at any moment, and we’re heading out into more and more dangerous battles, with very few options should someone get seriously hurt.”

Felix nodded. “Right. Death is… It’s something very real we could face any day now.” As he spoke, he turned his head away and closed his eyes. “Every day, I think back on that promise we made, and how one day… one day I could wake up and you simply wouldn’t be there. Like Glenn.”

It was as if a searing hot blade had been twisted into Sylvain’s heart. “... I could say the same for me, you know. Waking up like that…” It made Sylvain sick to his stomach just to even consider. His feet pulled him forward, towards Felix, as if trying to fight the very idea.

To Sylvain’s shock, as he got closer, he could see the tears silently falling down Felix’s cheeks. Even now, he felt so strongly, so deeply, despite hiding it away to be stronger. “Felix..?” he called softly, reaching out to touch his cheek.

Surprisingly, Felix didn’t pull away, though he didn’t move in either. “You said you missed it, in a way, me coming crying to you. I grew out of it, it was… It _ was _ childish. But I also just… When Glenn died, he was just gone. We were close, and that person I looked up to, I confided in, disappeared just like that.”

Sylvain nodded a bit, moving just a bit closer. “It hurt, losing him, and we weren’t even that close. I can’t imagine how you felt.”

Felix was still and silent for some time. Then he pulled away, reaching up to take Sylvain’s hand off his cheek. “You wanted me to come crying to you like when we were kids. Well, there you go. That’s as good as you’re going to get.”

For a moment, Sylvain considered joking, teasing him, trying to lighten the mood. But he put the thoughts aside. Instead, he pulled Felix into a hug, like he used to all those years ago. “If you’re going to do that, then I’m going to do what I used to do.”

For a moment, Sylvain could feel Felix tense and expected him to fight back. He didn’t, though, just slumping against Sylvain’s chest. And in a strange way, it was comforting to Sylvain, too. It was a familiar weight and warmth that he hadn’t felt in far too long. Felix’s hands rested on his chest, forehead pressing into his shoulder. He truly did miss this, being able to rest his cheek against Felix’s hair and hold him close, to provide some level of comfort to someone who had become so angry and distant with him.

“Your heart’s beating really fast,” came the soft murmur from Sylvain’s shoulder.

Sylvain’s eyes widened as he realized just where Felix’s right hand was resting. “I guess I’m just happy.”

Felix hummed softly. “You’re weird. We could die any day now and we still have the same problems we did before, but you’re all giddy because I’m letting you hug me. You’re such a moron.”

Sylvain laughed. “I guess. I dunno, I haven’t really bothered thinking about the other stuff. I mean, it’s kinda hard to concentrate on finding a girl and having a kid with a crest when we’ve got this other stuff going on. Besides, I’ve always hated that stuff, and I actually like being around you, believe it or not.”

“For some reason.” Felix pulled back some, raising his hands to wipe at the corners of his eyes. 

It was such a reminder of when they were kids, Felix fussing over himself when he was done crying even while Sylvain was still hugging him, how soft Felix could truly be. How he only ever let his brother and Sylvain see this vulnerability. Sylvan could feel his heart seize in his chest, aching and racing at the same time.

“... When this war is over, things will change a lot, won’t they?” Sylvain asked, voice falling to a whisper. “We’ll still be able to see each other, but… We’ll have our own houses, our own wives and kids and… We won’t be at each other’s sides.”

Felix gave him a strange, confused look. “You don’t truly expect to fully be able to keep that promise we made when we were kids, do you?”

“There’s one way,” Sylvain said before he’d even thought of it. And this was a terrible, terrible idea that was probably going to get him punched but he didn’t care. It was stupid and absurd and… And it was everything he wanted.

Felix gave him a deadpan look. “If you say we run away or something, I’m going to smack you, because that would be insanely irresponsible.”

Sylvain laughed. “Okay, two things we could do, but that wasn’t what I was thinking.” He swallowed, mouth dry. He knew he was about to suggest something crazy, but he felt he had to. He sent a silent prayer to both Sothis and Glenn before speaking again. “I… I have to marry. I have to have a child. But you know me. There’s so few women I’d truly be able to trust, to look at them and not see someone who’s just using me. But… But I trust you.”

Felix’s eyes widened, his expression stunned. Sylvain didn’t know if he was just shocked about Sylvain opening up to him at this point or if he knew what was coming, but Sylvain only paused a short time before continuing. “I trust you,” he repeated. “And I want to stay by your side, to… To die with you, like we promised as kids. So marry me.”

Silence flooded the room as Felix stared at Sylvain. Sylvain could feel his blood roaring in his ears, terror and worry and hope closing around his heart. It felt like an eternity before Felix finally responded to the quite frankly insane proposition.

“But… you… There’s no way. We both have our duties to our houses, you have to have a kid with a crest, and who the hell would even officiate something like that, there’s no way anyone would be willing!” His words were weak and dazed, as if still wrapping his head around the idea that this was actually something being discussed right now.

Still, it made hope swell and stifle the dread in Sylvain’s chest. “We can still fulfill our duties, I mean, our lands are right next to one another. And I could get a surrogate or something, actually let some lady who wants that clout to have it and not have to worry about it. And besides, the professor totally would do it if we asked him. And he’s the leader of the church of Serios right now, you can’t get much more official than that. He’d probably just have to review how it works or something, and knowing him, he could memorise it in a snap.”

Felix was slowly shaking his head, eyes still wide. “You’re crazy, you… You’re completely crazy,” he said.

“And yet I’m not hearing a no. Any chance you’d be as crazy as me?” Sylvain squeezed Felix around his waist, grinning a little.

Felix continued to stare for a few moments before his shoulders started to shake. For a split second, Sylvain thought he might’ve made Felix cry again, until the giggling ripped from Felix’s lips. Felix slumped forward onto his shoulder again, entire body shaking with the force of his laughter. Sylvain couldn’t help his own little chuckle at the reaction, and decided to just rub Felix’s back and wait for him to calm down enough to talk again.

Sylvain wondered, distantly, when the last time he’d heard Felix laugh was. Not a mocking sneer, or a cocky chuckle, but a true laugh. He didn’t remember, really, but it was music to his ears, even if might be out of Sylvain finally breaking him.

Eventually, though, Felix’s laughter calmed, and Sylvain could feel the smile against his shoulder for a moment before he lifted his head. “I must be losing my mind. I have to be.”

“Heh, I can wait, but I do need to hear you say yes if we’re going to do this,” Sylvain teased.

“I’m absolutely losing my mind,” Felix reaffirmed. “Yes. Screw it, screw it all, yes, I’ll marry you, and _ you _ can explain why the hell we’re doing this to Ingrid, because she is going to kill both of us.”

Sylvain laughed. “Oh hell, I hadn’t even thought of that. We are so, so screwed.”

Felix chuckled softly before leaning up and kissing Sylvain firmly. Sylvain’s eyes widened before fluttering shut as he leaned in to return the affection. It was soft and chaste, only lasting a few moments before Felix pulled back with a slight smile. “I’ve wanted to do that since we were eight.”

Sylvain blinked in surprise. “Wait, really?”

“Yea. I have terrible taste in men, it seems.” Felix’s smile was wry, but genuine all the same. “Can we please keep this quiet, at least. I don’t want to make a big event of it. Just us and our former classmates. That is, if the professor even agrees to this.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Sylvain leaned in, kissing his cheek. “Even if he doesn’t, we’ll figure it out. As long as we’re together, nothing can stand in our way.”

Felix didn’t respond, not verbally at least, just leaning his forehead against Sylvain’s and closing his eyes. And that was all they needed, Sylvain mused. So long as they had one another, to fight together, to rebuild together, to die together, they would be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still only partway through the game but I got the idea and really needed to write it. I'm gay, they're gay, I love my stupid students so much, good night.


End file.
